Former president Bill Clinton attends an event in Los Angeles on Thursday. / Joe Scarnici Getty Images for TRANS4M

by Susan Davis, USA TODAY

by Susan Davis, USA TODAY

LANSDOWNE, Va. -- Democrats should oppose dramatic cuts to federal spending at a time of sluggish economic growth, former president Bill Clinton told House Democrats gathered here for their annual retreat Friday.

"Here's the dilemma: we do have a long-term debt problem, but that doesn't mean that austerity now is the right response," Clinton said, adding that Republicans only support austerity measures "when Democrats are president." An affirmative plan on how to spark job creation and growth is a more powerful argument to the public than the GOP's advocacy for spending cuts and downsizing government, he contended.

The former president, who spoke for 40 minutes and largely off the cuff, said Democrats need to put forward a clear plan for job growth and innovation with long-term proposals to draw down the debt as the economy grows.

The suggestion from Clinton - who has tremendous support within the House Democratic Caucus - comes as a divided Congress and President Obama are warring over how and whether to replace impending March 1 across-the-board spending cuts, and the two parties are also poised to release dueling budgets that outline their 10-year plans for the economy.

"I want you to think about what you want to do over the next two years, where you want to end up and how this is a part of a long-term struggle," Clinton said. "What you have to understand about politics is nothing is permanent. It is an ongoing enterprise."

On health care, Clinton said Democrats should continue to oppose GOP proposals to block grant Medicaid funding to give greater authority to the states, as well as plans to privatize Medicare. In return, however, he said Democrats have to be willing to change Obama's health care law as it goes through the implementation process.

"We Democrats own the health care issue now," he said praising the law for containing "a lot of good things" but that problems are certain to arise. "We have to do this right," he said. "Turn in to it, explain it, and make sure it works."

He was bullish on prospects for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, in part due to renewed support from Republicans following the 2012 elections in which Hispanic voters spurned the GOP.

On guns, Clinton said the timing was good for action but cautioned Democrats that the issue is a tricky one. He recalled the successful fight in 1994 to pass a ban on assault weapons, which is blamed for playing a large part in Democrats' loss of control of Congress that year.

"I see this whole gun issue as an opportunity‚?¶but it depends on how you do it," Clinton said, advising Democrats to work hard to build public support on their gun legislation and to reach out to constituencies outside the party's base.

"I think the most important thing I can say to you is: This is a job. This is a job. And keeping it requires you to do it and to sell it simultaneously," he said.